More galleries

Oscar's red carpet runway

View Gallery

This year's Oscars was a combination of a high school prom and graduation. There was the pomp and circumstance, the corny music, the interminable length – and, of course, the gowns. Here, perky valedictorian (and Oscar co-host) Anne Hathaway sets the tone in a fire-engine-red Valentino. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Anne Hathaway has a well-deserved reputation for being a clotheshorse. She showed off this talent to maximum advantage with no less than seven haute couture costume changes during the Oscar broadcast, wearing (clockwise from top left) Versace, Lanvin, Vivienne Westwood, Giorgio Armani, Tom Ford, Givenchy, and Oscar de la Renta. Staff/Reuters

Anne Hathaway's sidekick was co-host James Franco (r.), nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for '127 Hours.' The role he seemed to be playing on Oscar night bore a striking resemblance to his stoner character in 'Pineapple Express.' He took his best shot at this drag gag, but the joke fell flat. Mark J. Terrill/AP

Most Likely To Succeed: A glowingly pregnant Best Actress winner Natalie Portman is resplendent in a sweeping plum dress by Rodarte. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

With four Oscar nominations but no wins,Annette Bening glittered with all her might in an eye-catching Naeem Khan sheath, but lost the Best Actress award to Natalie Portman. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

The statuesque Nicole Kidman can pull off anything, even this oddly-shaped confection by John Galliano for Christian Dior. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

A far cry from the frowsy nurse she played in 'Blue Valentine,' Michelle Williams pulls out all the glamor stops in Chanel. Matt Sayles/AP

Perhaps Elvis hasn't left the building after all. Topping many worst-dressed Oscar lists, potty-mouthed Best Supporting Actress winner Melissa Leo of 'The Fighter' sports a jumpsuit-like Marc Bouwer creation. What she'll really be remembered for, however, is dropping the f-bomb on live television during her acceptance speech. Matt Sayles/AP

Million Dollar Baby: Amy Adams, the other Best Supporting Actress nominee from the foul-mouthed movie 'The Fighter,' cleans up very nicely in this sequined L'Wren Scott dress. She is wearing a cool $1.35 million worth of emerald and diamond Cartier jewelry. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Cutting a wildly unroyal figure, wacky and winsome Helena Bonham Carter of 'The King's Speech' shows off a Union Jack flag tied to her leg under a dress designed by the film's costume designer Colleen Atwood. Chris Pizzello/AP

Prom Queen: Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for 'True Grit,' pulls off a Marchesa dress that she helped design, along with some death-defying stiletto heels. The plucky young actress substituted more comfortable red Converse sneakers at the Vanity Fair afterparty. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Australian actress Jacki Weaver, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her tiger mother turn in 'Animal Kingdom,' looks very civilized in this Collette Dinnigan gown. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Weight Watchers weight-loss spokesperson Jennifer Hudson follows up her 2007 'Dreamgirls' Oscar win with a svelte new figure and a showstopper of a gown by Versace. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

On Friday, Russia's sports ministry denied accusations of state-sponsored doping that implicate more than 1,000 athletes across more than 30 sports in sample swapping, tampering with samples, and taking steroid cocktails designed to evade Olympic testing.